Who was the Buddha and why did he become such a significant historical figure? What were his most important insights and teachings? What can he tell us about the universality of suffering and the potential for freedom? How can we live a life with growth and harmony and without emotional pain? What is the Buddhist understanding of the greater reality? With clarity , simplicity, wisdom and humour, Paramabandhu takes us towards some answers to these questions. Paramabandhu weaves examples both from his own experience and other peoples to demonstrate the value of Buddhist practice and techniques in managing the multiple demands and everyday challenges of modern life. Practical Buddhism explores: Mindfulness practice and misconceptions about meditation Working with troublesome thoughts and difficult emotions The practice of compassion and kindness Guidelines for skillful living Working through stress, relationship problems and addictive behaviour The meaning of karma and dharma Understanding freedom, impermanence and non-selfhood Buddhism and psychotherapy How Buddhist practice informs our relationship with sexuality, illness and pain, greed and sustainability.

Dr. Paramabandhu Groves is a Consultant in addiction psychiatry in London. He trained in medicine at Cambridge University and University College London and is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists of Britain and Ireland. Dr. Groves has lived and taught at the London Buddhist Centre for over 20 years. He is the clinical director of Breathing Space, which teaches mindfulness meditation for depression, addiction and for carers. He is a Core Process Psychotherapist and has developed Kindness Behaviour Training (KBT) to complement the mindfulness courses at Breathing Space.

Contents: Practical Buddhism: Mindfulness and Skilful Living in the Modern Era by Dr. Paramabandhu Groves

Acknowledgements

xi

Forewords

xiii

Dr. Sarah Eagger

xv

Vishvapani Blomfield

xv

Introduction

1

Chapter 1: The Buddha in Context

3

The Historical Context

3

The Four Sights

4

Going Forth

4

The Buddha's Awakening

5

The Buddha's Teaching Career

6

The Spread of Buddhism

6

Early Buddhism

7

Mahayana Buddhism

7

Vajrayana Buddhism

8

Western Buddhism

8

The Significance of the Buddha's Life for Us Today

8

Chapter 2: Starting with Mindfulness

11

What is Mindfulness?

11

Breath and Body

12

Patterns of the Mind

13

1. Sense Desire

13

2. Aversion

13

3. Anxiety

13

4. Sleepiness

14

5. Doubt

14

Misconceptions About Meditation

15

Mindfulness Outside of Meditation

16

Practising Mindfulness Meditation

17

Guided Meditation: Mindfulness of Breath and Body

17

Preparation

17

Stage one

17

Stage two

18

Concluding the practice

18

Chapter 3: Working with Difficult Thoughts and Emotions

19

Rumination and Catastrophic Thinking

20

Turning Towards Our Experience

20

Ways to Help Turning Towards Our Experience

22

1. Accept, Don't Reject

22

2. Move Towards and Investigate

22

3. Look for the Deeper Meaning

23

Guided Meditation: Mindfulness of Breath and Body Working with Difficult Thoughts and Emotions